Ok, so -- to start actually posting and documenting my reading experiences here, I'll start with this one, which I've just finished.
This book had everything going on for it -- decadence, inventory-like prose that goes on and on about insanely specific things & so on. I love all of that, and I love the idea of À Rebours, but it just became so... tiring...
After the mid-section, and a few BRILLIANT chapters (such as the 8th & the 11th), Des Esseintes' aristocratic malaise just became boring. What was once exciting and interesting became increasingly solipsistic and dull. It began with so, so much steam and glimmer and beautiful decadent descriptions, but ended up making me dread each new page I had to turn.
Highly recommend Paglia's take on it from Sexual Personae.
Overall, and very generally, I liked it. Just wasn't amazed as I expected to be.
I like the part about the jewel encrusted turtle
It's a true highlight, and very telling that it's one of his first excursions into crazy ass aestheticism